UPDATE: One hurt, three missing after fiery head-on train collision near Panhandle

Tuesday

Jun 28, 2016 at 8:29 AM

Aaron Davis

BREAKING - A head-on collision involving two freight trains caused several box cars to derail and erupt in flames in the Texas Panhandle on Tuesday, injuring an unknown amount of people and leading authorities to evacuate people who live nearby.

The accident happened near the town of Panhandle, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Bryan Witt. He had no cause or other details because emergency responders were still assessing the damage, Witt said.

A BNSF Railway spokesman says emergency personnel are searching for three crew members missing in the wreckage of a two-train collision in the Texas Panhandle.

Spokesman Joe Faust said Tuesday that each train was carrying two crew members. He says one man jumped before the trains collided and is being treated at a hospital. The extent of his injuries is unknown.

Faust says it's not clear how fast the trains were traveling when they collided, but the speed limit in that area is 70 mph.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway says the NTSB has opened an investigation.

12:04 p.m. update - Injuries

Federal Railroad Administration investigators are on site of the head-on collision and are reporting injuries, agency spokesman Matthew Lehner said. There was no information regarding how many injuries or whether there were any fatalities.

According to a spokeperson, four BNSF employees were involved in the incident. By 9:02 a.m., one employee was transported to a local hospital and is being treated.

Rescue efforts are underway at the scene with respect to the three other railroad employees involved in the incident.

11:35 a.m. update

A National Transportation Safety Board accident investigation team has been dispatched to the crash site, a press spokesperson in the NTSB Central Regional Office in Denver told the Globe-News, and they are expected to arrive on site this afternoon.

Officials on the scene are diverting traffic off U.S. Highway 60 and onto highway 207, and area residents from the east side of Panhandle are being evacuated to an elementary school cafeteria.

The Texas A&M Forest Service is helping supply firefighting suppression foam on the wreckage.

Police and firefighters from Claude and Potter County are on the scene, as well as personnel from Pantex Plant and Randall County.

11:09 a.m. update - Evacuation & Water Supply

The city has begun evacuating the east side of town as the wind has started to shift. The city asked that anyone east of Highway 207, known as The Borger Highway, or LC, can evacuate to the courthouse for the War Memorial building. Another possible shelter may be the elementary school.

Any donations of water for First Responders can be dropped off at the Methodist Church, according to city secretary Roni Willburn.

At the scene, the wind has shifted and black smoke is moving into residential areas of town. The population is estimated at 2,400 residents.

The main concern is a grass fire.

The city of Panhandle has sent out a notice to residents to cut back on all water usage immediately. They said the city's water supply is being depleted by firefighters at the scene. They ask residents to turn off all sprinkler systems.

10:30 a.m. update - Eyewitnesses

Witness Angel Waltz was sitting on her front porch at the Country Sunset RV Park drinking coffee when she heard screeching sounds and saw the two trains collide head-on, she said, looking across U.S. Highway 60 from her home.

She said there were small explosions and a huge ball of fire. Waltz said she ran to the other side of her trailer and called 911, and it was about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The concussion of the explosions shook the grounds and all the trailers, Waltz said.

Darrell Harvill, another Country Sunset resident, ran across Highway 60 to one of the train's orange and black engines and called out to see if someone needed help getting out of the wreckage. He got no response and eventually had to back away as the fire grew more intense.

Another resident, Sara Glasscock, also watched the crash unfold and says she saw train cars as they "crumpled" on either side of the crashed engines.

9:05 a.m. update

At the scene, about five miles east of town near U.S. Highway 60, there's a large amount of debris. Witness say there are two tracks that run side-by-side in that area.

Multiple fire department crews and law enforcement personnel are at the scene. No other details, including any injuries, are yet known.

A representative from BNSF said more details would be released later this morning.

Background

In September 2013, three BNSF employees were injured in a three-train collision near U.S. Highway 60 and Farm-to-Market Road 1912 east of Amarillo.

In that wreck, an eastbound train was stopped on the tracks when another train also traveling east rear-ended it. The collision caused up to 30 rail cars traveling with the trains to derail.

Shortly afterward, a westbound train struck some of the derailed cars from the first accident.

No serious injuries were reported in that wreck. The trains were hauling flatbed cars carrying truck trailer, and no hazardous materials spilled.

In October 2006, a BNSF train traveling from La Junta, Colo. to Amarillo derailed on the Cline Street rail tracks in Cactus. Lloyd Rand, a BNSF engineer, was awarded $2.8 million in damages after he sued BNSF, claiming the company was negligent in failing to switch rail lines to the main track, causing the accident.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.